Marko Nikolic: Eight games - eight finals

Lokomotiv’s head coach Marko Nikolic shares his first impressions from working with the team in Bakovka, estimates the players’ potential, and sets the goal for the season.

-  What are your impressions from meeting the coaches and the team? 

- I am happy to be here. It’s a totally new life, especially after two weeks of isolation at the hotel. I’m happy to finally arrive in Bakovka, meet the players, the staff, and start the training process. My first impressions are very positive but they are not so important. What matters is where we’ll be on July 22nd. All my thoughts are about this now. 

- How did you and your assistants spend the last two weeks of self-isolation? How did you communicate with other coaches?

- It wasn’t easy but what’s important is that nobody fell ill. We organized the training process together with Oleg Pashinin, Dmitriy Loskov, Sergey Alekseyev, Sarkis Oganesyan, and Zaur Khapov. We were always in touch and shared information. I followed the training process in Bakovka online and then together we analyzed what we saw.

- Lokomotiv is set to play eight matches in one month. What’s most important right now?

- We’ll try hard to establish a good atmosphere. Lokomotiv is a good team and I hope all of the players will be healthy. It is important that we don’t lose players due to injuries because we’ll need to play many games in a very short time. We need every player. We have a clear task that we have to fulfil. 

- How would you evaluate the team;s potential?

- It is a very good team that won the title two years ago and came second last year. It had very good games. You can’t do this without top-class players. The team has the experience, the alloy of the young and the experienced footballers. My philosophy is that my team is the best in the world. 

- What are your expectations of the closing past of the championship?

- Everybody has to be set for work. Everyone has to be ready to work and rival each other. The epidemiological situation is improving every day and we need to concentrate on football and not relax. There are eight games ahead - eight finals. I think only about this. I have a goal and I want the players, the coaches and the rest to share it: we want to play in the Champions League next season.